bloom: apple blossoms
by aceoftwos
Summary: It could be worse.
1. side a: shinichi

**notes** : the simplest explanation of the bloom au is this: it's a series of unconnected shorts from various fandoms featuring various couples and how they come to terms w/ their relationship. set in a universe w/o a lot of plot relevancy, where soulmates get flower tattoos when they touch for the first time. the meaning of the flower usually tells you smth about the nature of their relationship. a.k.a. i spend way too much time looking up plant symbolism and need to be stopped.

* * *

 **apple blossoms** : _side a_

in which shinichi falls in love and learns the hard way that is never boring with kuroba kaito.

* * *

It's been a long day, and really, all you want to do is just go home and sleep for at _least_ a week. But you don't. Because you know with an unfortunate certainty that if you miss even one of Kid's heists, there will be hell to pay later.

And if you're being honest with yourself, you _do_ want to go. You like Kid's heists.

So you drag yourself to your car and take a look at the notice that was delivered to your door earlier this morning. You skip the part about what's being stolen and isolate the line explaining where the heist is being held. Within a few minutes, you've uncoded enough of the message to puzzle out the location.

In the fifteen minutes it takes to get there, you start to think that (maybe) this is a good idea.

The crowd of screaming fans outside the police tape surrounding the museum is enough to convince you otherwise. You bypass the whole mess with a flash of your badge and a tired smile for the man who waves you through. The officer at the door nods at you as you head inside.

Nakamori's sharp voice rings out from down the hall. You immediately turn the other way and head for the roof. You are _so_ not interested in being yelled at today.

 **...**

The door creaks open less than half an hour after you've sat down. White flashes at the corner of your eye as Kid settles himself next to you, gem in hand. It's blue this time, a globed sapphire polished to perfection.

"You missed the party, Detective."

"I also missed being yelled at, so there's that."

"True."

He holds the jewel up to the moonlight as usual, and then there's the usual expression of resigned disappointment on his face. You never ask why, or what he's looking for. He never asks you about your time as Edogawa Conan. An unspoken arrangement that you were bound to break eventually. But not tonight. Tonight, you're both content to sit in silence, both caught up in your own thoughts.

The silence is broken minutes later by the familiar cursing of irritated police officers. They sound more enraged than usual. You wonder what he did to them. Kid stands and offers you a hand up. You roll your eyes and let him pull you to your feet.

"Always the gentleman, aren't you?"

"Always." He grins and snaps his fingers. Smoke explodes across the rooftop. "Can't let my prince charming fend for himself, can I?" You feel the top of your head and sure enough, there's a crown sitting there (not the only new addition, there's also a gemstone in your pocket). He laughs delightedly as you reach out and nearly manage to grab a hold of his collar. The silky material slides out of your grip and next thing you know, the smoke has cleared and Kid is a white triangle against the night sky.

You scowl and shove your hands in your pockets, resigning yourself to an hour of being shouted at by Nakamori (both for trying to catch Kid and for not catching him) before you can go home.

…

The next morning you wake up and roll out of bed somewhere around noon. Not terribly unusual for a Saturday. You head downstairs to find coffee, possibly some toast and jam. Then back to bed with the new book you picked up. Maybe catch up on some more sleep.

You notice it when you go to turn on the coffeemaker.

The tattoo suddenly covering most of your inner arm. The flowers that are supposed to appear when you touch your soulmate for the first time. You stare blankly at the ink on your skin for close to five minutes. There's a tiny bud on the tip of your left ring finger, attached to a branch that extends to your upper arm. Pale pink and white blossoms sprout from various offshoots.

You think: _apple blossoms, good fortune_.

At least, you're pretty sure that's what they are. Probably. You walk back upstairs slowly, coffee very firmly in hand. You have a feeling you're going to need it by the time you're done. Especially if your soulmate is who you think it is. You sigh, and think: _that new book is gonna have to wait_.

…

Ran's eyes latch onto it the moment you walk in the door.

She practically throws herself at you, questions and congratulations bubbling past her lips at an alarming rate. You gently pry off her arms and sit down on one of her couches. She takes the hint and goes back to the kitchen to finish cooking, humming and dancing around the small space, her smile wide.

"So." She sets a plate of curry on the coffee table in front of you and sits next to you, practically vibrating with excitement. "Tell me _everything_. Who is it?"

"It's, uh… Kid."

…

"Well, it could be worse."

"My soulmate is an internationally wanted jewel thief who likes to screw with the police for fun and has a habit of dying people's hair disturbingly vibrant shades of pink."

"At least he's not a murderer?"

"Thank heaven for small mercies."

 **...**

You get home at around midnight, exhausted from several nights of very little sleep and debating the pros and cons of your new situation with Ran. She thinks it could be a good thing, but honestly you're ready to fall into bed and pretend that nothing ever happened.

Predictably, that plan gets ruined.

Kid the Phantom Thief is in your living room, stretched out across one of the couches, possibly asleep. You briefly entertain the idea of unmasking him (it's kind of weird not knowing anything about the person you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with) but decide that you're way too tired to deal with the consequences.

You throw yourself onto the couch opposite him and wait. After a moment, the brim of his hat lifts. One dark blue eye examines you, taking in the dark circles under your eyes and your weary posture. "Sleep," he says, voice soft but firm. "We can talk tomorrow."

You're asleep before your head hits the cushions.

 **...**

When you wake up, far too early, Kid is gone. In his place is a man about your age, with wild hair and laughing eyes. He's propped up in one of the armchairs, reading what looks like your French-German dictionary. Upside down. You'd be lying if you said you were surprised.

The way he's sitting affords you a pretty nice view of his tattoo. There's a branch curled around his neck, not quite meeting at the back, flowers budding and blooming around it. The white and pale pink mixes nicely with his skin tone. He turns to meet your eyes, expression carefully blank.

"Hi," he says. "I didn't want to wake you. Looks like you need the sleep."

"I did, still do." You roll off the couch and wince over the new aches in your arms and back. Sleeping on that couch is a _nightmare_. You walk a bit unsteadily to the kitchen and start the coffeemaker.

He follows you and sits on the countertop. You pull a stool from the breakfast bar and sit by him, cheek against the counter. He gestures at your hand hesitantly. You hold it out to him without a word. He studies the ink on your skin, fingers pleasantly cool on yours.

"Apple blossoms, huh?"

"A harbinger of better things."

"A strong liking," he says, a smile tugging at his lips. You suppose it's true. You do like Kid. You don't even particularly mind that he's a criminal. You'd prefer if he wasn't, but it doesn't really concern you all that much. "I was half-expecting a rose when I finally got the mark."

"Sorry to disappoint."

"Oh, no, I'm not disappointed. Not at all. I'm actually pretty happy with how things turned out." He pulls a blue rose from thin air and rolls it between his fingers for a moment before handing it to you with a flourish. "I'm Kuroba Kaito by the way. Magician, thief, engineer. Call me Kaito."

"Kudo Shinichi. Police inspector, private detective, novelist." You accept the rose with a bit of a smile and think: _attaining the impossible, indeed. A thief and a detective, destined to be together. Who would've thought?_ "Call me Shinichi."

After that, Kaito settles into your life like he was always meant to be there. Which, you suppose, is true.

…

One afternoon, you're making lunch (and trying to keep Kaito's hands away from the food), when you hear the distinctive click of the lock opening. Immediately you're on guard. You poke your head out into the entryway and see Ran calmly taking off her shoes and coat.

She hands you a slim cardboard box stamped with the logo of the Poirot. You open it and find two of your favorite dark chocolate croissants. You'd like to ask her what she's doing and why she feels it's necessary to bribe you to do it, but she's already heading for the kitchen.

Ran pulls out a stool and sits down, clearly intending to stay.

You wordlessly pull out a few more slices of bread and finish preparing enough sandwich toppings for three. She criticizes your uneven chunks of cheese. You hand her the knife with an expression that says you-do-it-if-you're-so-much-better and watch as she prepares the rest of the ingredients with easy grace.

She sets plates in front of you and sits down again. Kaito busies himself with eating, trying to pretend that none of this is weird.

…

"So, Kid, you're Shinichi's soulmate."

"You told her about me."

"I can't lie to Ran. Besides, she won't say anything."

"Of course not. Not under normal circumstances. But if you hurt Shinichi in any way, I'm telling Sonoko."

"Ran, I don't need you to threaten him for me. I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself."

"I'm your best friend. It's within my rights."

…

You get invited to the New Year's party hosted by the Ekoda PD purely because of your dealings with Kid. Kaito spots the letter, reads it, and looks at you in a way that says I'm-going-with-you-and-there's-nothing-you-can-say-that-will-stop-me. You roll your eyes and mumble, "You'll need a suit. A _black_ suit."

He shows up in your living room on the day of the party wearing a suit that fits him too well to be legal, and when you walk in with him besides you, you honestly feel a little bit like you're on top of the world.

(Inspector Nakamori walks up to you later. You experience a moment of panic as his eyes slide over to Kaito. Then he claps Kaito on the back and asks if there's any tickets left for his show next week. Apparently, Inspector Nakamori is a family friend. You learn that Kaito is also best friends with the Inspector's daughter and Hakuba Saguru. Both of whom dislike Kid.

(Later, you remark, "Life really doesn't like you, does it?" He just shrugs.)

…

Kaito's first meeting with Hattori does not go as planned.

You're not exactly sure what went wrong, but it ended with Hattori stranded in a high class restaurant wearing a rather unflattering coating of fake multi-colored feathers and a pair of cat ears. Kaito snaps a beautiful picture of the moment that Hattori immediately demands you destroy.

(It somehow makes its way into your photo album.)

…

You admit that you're in love with Kaito six months after you first touched him.

It's a quiet Thursday. Rain splats on the roof and slides down the windows. You're sitting on the couch, listening to the rain and thinking about a case. Kaito pulls you from your thoughts by squishing in close to you and pulling your legs across his lap. He sets a bowl of popcorn near your feet and hands you a bag of what looks to be chocolate covered almonds.

"Why?"

"We're watching a movie," he informs you. "You need to stop thinking for a while. The case isn't going anywhere. It won't suddenly disappear just because you take a break."

Kaito clicks a few buttons on the remote and starts a movie. Something about spies and world domination. You sigh and rest your forehead on his shoulder, "Thank you." The words are mumbled. You don't like admitting that you need help. Never have. Even though you need a lot of help. And Kaito is exactly the kind of help you need.

"I love you."

You freeze, because you aren't sure you're really ready to admit that. But it's too late to take it back now, and honestly you aren't sure you really want to. Kaito pauses the movies and wraps an arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer. You let your arms fall around his waist.

"Love you too."

* * *

 _1\. hattori avoids kaito like the fucking plague and kazuha laughs at him._

 _2\. ran and kaito actually become really great friends. and they gang up on shinichi whenever he does too much work without a break. they take him out to the park and shit like that. and they probably go out for coffee every other week and they talk about ran's job and kaito's doves and just, everything and nothing._

 _3\. when shinichi's parents finally shows up, kaito is a bit freaked out at first bc he's heard the horror stories. and then he actually just gets along with them spectacularly. they trade embarrassing pictures of shinichi back and forth. shinichi not-so-affectionately refers to them as a match made in hell. he spends most of their visits red-faced and just generally avoiding all of them._


	2. side b: kaito

**apple blossoms** : _side b_

in which kaito falls in and does a few things he really wants to do.

* * *

It's a day like any other. You get up at 8:45am after a few hours of sleep, still riding the adrenaline high of last night's heist. The fact that the jewel wasn't Pandora is only a tiny blip on your radar. To be honest, you've mostly given up on it. You search for it more out of habit, than any actual desire to find it.

The pleasantly lazy atmosphere is shattered by the shrill ring of your cellphone. You pat the blankets next to you until you find it buried under a pillow.

"Hello?"

"BaKaito, where are you?! Aoko and Hakuba have been waiting for twenty minutes!"

"Crap. I'm on my way."

You end the call to cut off any yelling she might feel inclined to do. After a quick raid of your closet, you grab an apple, and fly out the door. If you keep Aoko waiting for too long, she's going to do more than just yell at you. Luckily, you can't bring mops into restaurants.

…

You walk into the restaurant ten minutes after her call, grinning sheepishly.

Hakuba's eyes go wide as saucers as soon as he spots you. Aoko turns in her seat, looking puzzled, then delighted. Both of their gazes are locked on your neck. You frown at them.

"What is it?"

Aoko stands and walks over to you. She asks plaintively, "Why didn't you say anything? I'm your best friend, aren't I?" You stare at her, wondering: _what the hell is she talking about now?_

"Of course you are. But, say anything about _what?_ "

"Your soulmate, idiot! Who is it?!"

"My… Wait, my soulmate?!" You're practically screeching, right in the middle of the restaurant, and you honestly can't bring yourself to care. How did you _not_ notice your newly appeared _soulmate tattoo_ when you were getting ready this morning? "Where is it?"

"You didn't know? It's, uh, your neck. Here."

Aoko pulls her phone from her purse and snaps a photo. You take the phone from her eagerly and get your first blurry look at the delicate pink and white flowers winding around your neck.

"Apple blossoms." You grin and hand back her phone. "Good fortune."

Hakuba mutters, "Anyone stuck with you is _not_ destined for good fortune…" You aim a glare in his direction and Aoko kicks him under the table. "What? It's true."

"Yes, but it's not nice to say so."

"Thanks for defending me, Ahoko."

She smiles, the very picture of innocence, and says, "Tell me about him." You know that tone of voice. It's her don't-fuck-with-me-or-you'll-regret-it voice. As much as you'd love to skip out on hanging out with them and go _find_ your soulmate, you know you can't. Not with Aoko on the warpath.

"He's tall, dark, and handsome," you say after a pause, smiling. Aoko rolls her eyes, impatience creeping into her expression. "No, really. Uh. He's got blue eyes, little darker than mine. Sarcastic. Tenacious."

"Hobbies?"

"Soccer, reading, he plays the violin. And the piano, I think. Hakuba will like this, he's a detective."

"Your soulmate is a detective?"

"Yep."

"The world must really hate you."

" _I'm not Kid!_ "

…

It's close to midnight when you finally hear the door swing open. There's two thuds as his shoes hit the floor, then shuffling towards the living room. He stops when he sees you, then sighs and sits down. You glance at him from under the brim of your hat, acknowledge the shadows under his eyes.

Kudo Shinichi looks absolutely exhausted.

"Sleep," you say firmly. "We can talk in the morning."

He doesn't even bother going upstairs. He just flops sideways on the couch and starts snoring. You're kind of disturbed by how cute you think he is when he's sleeping.

…

He wakes up at 9:43am and after a cup of coffee, he _still_ looks exhausted. You hesitate before gesturing to his arm. Honestly, you don't want to discuss any of this. Not right now, at least. Not when he looks like he's on the verge of collapsing.

You settle for introducing yourself and making a promise to meet later that week.

…

Shinichi opens the door on the appointed date, just past ten in the morning, looking tired but not exhausted.

You offer him coffee you picked up from the Poirot and a blue rose. He takes them after a moment of hesitation and opens the door a bit wider. You step inside and toe off your shoes. Shinichi is already heading for the library, hands cupping the coffee like it's something precious and important. The rose gets dropped in a vase, almost as an afterthought.

"You really like your coffee."

"No, I _like_ being awake. Coffee is a necessary evil."

…

"What do you do for fun, anyways?"

"Uh. I don't, really."

"Nothing?"

"I'm busy most of the time."

"Unacceptable. We're going out."

"What, right now?"

"Yep. We're going to go to the park!"

"To do what?"

"Play hide and seek."

"…You can't be serious."

"I'm always serious."

…

After the party, you spend a few minutes talking quietly in the entryway. Shinichi is leaning against the wall, his tie hanging loose around his neck and his cufflinks undone, smiling at you. It's soft and fond and you _really_ want to kiss him.

Very carefully, slowly, deliberately, you pull him closer and closer.

You stop there for a moment, lips inches apart, and gauge his reaction. He smiles again as he leans in to close the distance. Then you're kissing, and you can distantly hear celebratory fireworks going off in your brain. It feels like everything just snapped into place.

…

Aoko barges into your house early one Thursday morning, Hakuba on her heels, to find you twirling across your living room floor to the beat of an old Spanish love song. You wave at them and then put your hand back on Shinichi's shoulder. He's still moving back and forth, eyes partially closed, smiling beautifully, unaware you have company.

You nod them towards the kitchen. Aoko giggles and tugs away an embarrassed-looking Hakuba. You wait until they're safely out of earshot before speaking.

"Shinichi."

"Hm?"

"We have company."

He pulls away from you and looks around, looking puzzled. "No we don't?"

"I sent them into the kitchen. C'mon." You selfishly pull him closer and walk towards the kitchen hip to hip, one hand resting on his waist. Shinichi rolls his eyes but doesn't comment. "It's about time you met them, anyways. I already met Ran."

He stops for a moment, eyes serious, and asks quietly, "Do they know?"

"Hakuba suspects but he has no proof," you reply. You think for a moment, then add firmly, "Aoko is never going to know. She'd kill me. Then get Akako to reanimate my corpse so she could kill me again."

"Drama queen," he says fondly. "Let's go meet these friends of yours."

…

It goes about as well as can be expected. Shinichi is all smiles, confidence, and poise. He answers their questions as politely and truthfully as possible, lying only a few times to cover up your respective secrets when it really couldn't be avoided.

("How did you meet?"

"He was performing in the park. I got picked to help and ended up brushing against him. Neither of us noticed. He was wearing a high neck and I was wearing long sleeves.")

Hakuba looks vaguely suspicious, but at this point you're pretty sure that's just his default setting.

…

"I love you."

He's frozen beside you, forehead resting on your shoulder. You know, without a doubt, that he didn't mean to say that. Quickly, quietly, calmly you pause the movie and turn to him. You pull him into your arms and breathe out the words you've wanted to say for months, "Love you too."

* * *

 _1\. kaito and shinichi actually dance pretty often. most ppl are rly surprised when they find out but kaito had to learn to dance to be good at imitating certain rich young women and ofc yukiko forced shinichi to take dance lessons._

 _2\. they have a lot of comfortable silences. kaito often takes advantage of them to kiss shinichi bc he can and he kinda likes to see how many times he can do that before shinichi finally puts down his book and starts talking again. (but sometimes, he just lets the silence stretch between them and enjoys it. when that happens, kaito usually ends up asleep before ten minutes are up. then shinichi puts his book down and pulls kaito down into his lap and pets his hair until he falls asleep too.)_

 _3\. the detective boys are not quite sure how they feel about kaito. bc it's hard not to like someone who can make stuff appear out of nowhere but also he's monopolizing shinichi and that's not cool bc they need him to teach them about murders and shit. kaito is ridiculously amused when they come visit. shinichi is mostly exasperated, but he usually is when kaito is concerned._


End file.
